Brad bikes from John O Groats to Lands End (JOGLE)

Day 12 – Exeter to Fowey

July 21st, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in All, Route

Wednesday 21st July 2010

I woke up quite early this morning with my thigh injury on my mind. I’m staying in a Backpackers hostel in the middle of Exeter, but it does seem like there’s more people living here for months on end, so sharing one room with 10 men as you can imagine is probably not the quietest room during the night, noises coming from all directions.

Last night I tried to find another decent Sports Massage Clinic, the guy I saw in Taunton had mentioned someone in Gandy Street. So after finding this little alley in Exeter where there were lots of decent bars and restaurants I found this little door leading to ‘Nigel Millet’ Massage and Well Being center. There was no one there so I gave him a call, he was unable to meet that evening but I had arrange to meet him early in the morning.

I told Nigel all about the problems I’ve been having with my leg, and the amount of massages I’ve been having to try and get me through this challenge. He was very good and started with some laser treatment to get directly to the muscle, then some further massage followed by more stretching. He seemed really good and after nearly an hour he only charged me for 30 minutes treatment. I was very impressed with the treatment he provided and left a tip.

So I left Exeter at 9:30 today very late considering I’d been starting no later than 8:30 most days. Anyway I knew it was going to be a long and slow day, there were lots of hills to contend with, maybe not the highest, but there were lots of them. I mainly stuck to the busy A30 for the first 30 miles, as this seemed to be the fastest route on paper, going on the minor B roads meant lots of shorter hills. With the leg feeling good all morning I made good progress and reached Liskeard around 15:30. From Liskeard I dropped south to Fowey.

There was a slight change to my route, as rather going to Par, I was to meet my brother and friends in Fowey, this is a lovely sailing village, with some nice bars and restaurants. Meeting Ash, Bob and Butcher in Fowey after crossing the Fowey River felt like I was near the end. We went for a few beers, found a B&B in a pub, had a decent meal and then out for a few more drinks.

My dad and uncle Frank arrived by 22:30 I had a quick chat and gave them directions to their B&B just up the road and arranged to meet them in the morning.

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Day 13 – Fowey to Lands End

Thursday 22nd July 2010 A little bit dehydrated due to the Guiness last night, but got up tried to hydrate as much as possible, but feeling good as this was my final day of cycling in 2 weeks. Had a good breakfast and left he B&B at 9:00 and headed to Par where my dad [...]

Day 12 – Exeter to Fowey

Wednesday 21st July 2010 I woke up quite early this morning with my thigh injury on my mind. I’m staying in a Backpackers hostel in the middle of Exeter, but it does seem like there’s more people living here for months on end, so sharing one room with 10 men as you can imagine is [...]

Day 10 – Saul to Bath

Monday 19th July 2010 I woke up in the best self contained B&B anywhere for miles around feeling quite good. I had used ice-packs on my ankles last night and had managed the pain in my Achilles quite well. So I had a great breakfast and didn’t plan on rushing this morning as I only [...]

Day 9 – Shrewsbury to Saul Farm

Sunday 18th July 2010 I left Shrewsbury just after 8:30am after dosing up with paracetamol this morning, I stopped for breakfast a short distance after, as the chef at the pub where I stayed wasn’t working (I had an evening meal instead). Today was about managing the pain on my Achilles, initially it had all [...]

Day 8 – Blackpool to Shrewsbury (100 miles)

Saturday 17th July 2010 I woke up quite early around 6am, a good sleep, but the cleanliness of the place made me want to leave ASAP. I set off at 8 after getting what breakfast I could stomach in this place. I’m not a snob, but the breakfast was the cheapest value basic range and [...]

Day 7 – Keswick to Blackpool

Friday 16th July 2010 The youth hostel in Keswick was excellent and for £20 it even came with a breakfast. So after getting my clothes dry I set off about 8:45 (latest start so far). The weather was not great again, I had torrential rain for the third day in a row. After only 5 [...]

Day 6 – Corsock to Keswick

Last nights B&B was on a farm in Corsock, run by a lovely couple, Richard and Linda. They couldn’t of been nicer hosts, drying all my clothes on the Aga, tea and cakes and the living room to stretch out in front of the telly. Anyway onto the morning of day 6, Thursday 15th July. [...]

Day 5 – Wemyss Bay, nr Gourock to Corsock

Wednesday 14th July What a difference a day makes. After a really relaxing evening with friends Campbell and Anne I was ready to set off refreshed, feeling good with drinks and a packed-lunch made for me. The weather was not so kind, I started off about 8:40 in wind and rain, cycling along the coast [...]

Day 4 – Oban to Wemyss Bay, nr Gourock

I woke up feeling rough, sore throat, eye bloodshot and legs burning. After a light breakfast I set off about 8:30 out of Oban. My head was not all there and for the first couple of hours I felt quite light headed. I stopped at a cafe for some refreshments and set off again trying [...]

Day 3 – Loch Ness to Oban

Vital Stats Location: Loch Ness to to Oban Mile to go 830 Miles completed: 250 Punctures: 0 Legs: 6/10 Weather: Cloudy with showers, No wind I left Loch Ness in pretty decent condition, a slightly buckled wheel and a few adjustments to the breaks I set off. The first few hours were really good and [...]

Day 2 – Altnaharra to Loch Ness

Vital Stats Location: Altnaharra to to Loch Ness Miles completed: 95 Punctures: 0 Legs: 6/10 Weather: Cloudy with showers, No wind I couldn’t ask for a better start on Sunday. A full Scottish breakfast with all the trimmings(haggis included) to get me going. A big thank you to Mandy and Lindsay for your great B&B. [...]

Day 1 – John O Groats to Altnaharra

Vital Stats Location: Altnaharra Miles completed: 75 Punctures: 0 Legs: 8/10 Weather: Sunny with some cloud, no wind The YHA in John O Groats was fine and I had a really good sleep. Managed to leave John O Groats by 8:20, which was pretty good, as I had to cook breakfast (and wash-up), strip my [...]

Day 0 – Travelling to John O Groats

Made it to Wick and cycled up to John O Groats on day 0. I was planning to get my photo taken at the famous signpost, but it had been taken down. Met a few riders who had finished today and were in high spirits. 75 mile cycle to Altnaharra in the morning. Vital Stats [...]

Jethou crew in support

A big Thank-you goes to the crew of Jethou, who have donated £440.00 towards my challenge of cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End in support of The Rowans Hospice. Honorable mentions go to: Rich Middleton (Dad) – £150; Simon Walsh – £100; Ian Budgen – £50; Alex Philips – £50; Phil Salt – £50; [...]

Final training ride (67 miles)

On Sunday 27th June I completed my last all day training ride, well almost all day, apart from wanting to get home for the England game (why did I bother). I had the pleasure Jem Choppen, a veteran JOGLE rider accompanying me for this 67 mile ride. The route would take us to Wickham through [...]

Mudeford, near Christchurch training ride (85 miles)

This is my last weekend of intensive training before the big one. Saturday is an 85 mile training ride to Mudeford near Christchurch. I’m trying slow down my riding this weekend, this has to be about trying to enjoy the riding each day. 14 days of continuous cycling will take it toll I’m sure. The [...]

About Brad

Brad is cycling from John O Groats to Lands End, at the same time will be raising money for The Rowans Hospice, so dig deep and support this fantastic charity.